There's plenty of talent to go around on the Colts roster and now Indianapolis and general manager Chris Ballard have their quarterback -- Philip Rivers.
They have their quarterback for one year, anyhow.
The 38-year-old Rivers seems to be a perfect fit for the Colts in the here and now, as he's a veteran with a Hall of Fame resume who's as battle-tested as he is hungry for a Super Bowl run.
Still, Rivers signed a one-year deal with the Colts and his future beyond the 2020 season is far more of a quandary than a certainty. As fate and contracts would have it, Indy's other signal-callers -- Jacoby Brissett and Chad Kelly each have a season left on their deals, too.
All signs would point to the Colts drafting a quarterback of the future, but that's not necessarily the course for Ballard.
"It's gotta be the right guy, the right fit for us, and for our staff and for our organization," Ballard said Friday in a pre-draft media session, via the team website. "So I don't know when it's gonna happen: maybe this year, maybe next year, maybe two years from now. I don't know. And I'm not gonna force it -- much to everybody's dismay, and it might drive everybody nuts, but I'm not gonna force that issue. When we decide to take one up that we think's going to be the future guy of this franchise, you gotta be right."
The Colts franchise is certainly not foreign to drafting stellar quarterbacks and for now Indy has a first-rounder under center -- albeit Rivers was drafted in the first round in 2004 by the Giants (and traded to the Chargers). Originally, the Colts owned the 13th pick in the 2020 draft, but now are without a first-rounder and have eight picks overall, including two in the second round. In the second, the Colts have the No. 34 and 44 choices, which could be in the neighborhood for a promising QB. As for shipping away No. 13 -- which would have likely been a good spot for perhaps Utah State's Jordan Love -- Ballard is more that happy with having traded it away to the 49ers for defensive lineman DeForest Buckner.
"He's got everything we stand for -- high character, he's a producer," Ballard said of Buckner. "He's durable, he's got the character (and) he plays a premium position in this defense. It was an easy decision, easy decision.
"I know the 13th pick is a high price, but we haven't made a lot of big moves like this and a chance to acquire a player of this caliber with his character, I thought it was a no-brainer. Matter of fact, I held my freaking breath, praying that it was going to get done. I couldn't be more pleased about getting this young man into this organization and I think you will see the same things I see here going forward."
As it relates to going forward with a quarterback beyond next season, that remains to be determined, but Ballard hardly appears poised to reach or "force" a selection this coming week.
